Match Recap: FCD 1, Toronto 0

FRISCO, Texas – Jeff Cunningham scored
his 129th career goal as FC Dallas extended their unbeaten
streak to 13 straight with a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC
in a chippy, tightly contested match at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday
night.

The veteran made the most of his first start since June 5, burying a
long-ball from Marvin Chavez in the
opening minutes of the second half for his third goal in his last five
games. With that tally, Cunningham is now just three goals behind Jaime Moreno for the all-time scoring lead in
Major League Soccer history.

For most of the first half, scoring chances were hard to come by.
Toronto’s best chance came five minutes in, when defender Ty Harden’s header was pushed over the crossbar by
Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

FCD managed just one shot on frame in the first half, when a
long-range effort by Jackson Gonçalves in the 24th minute was saved by TFC
goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

But two minutes into the second half, Dallas struck. With the TFC
defenders playing way too high, David Ferreira played a
long ball to a streaking Chávez, who spotted Cunningham wide open on the
left flank.

The former Toronto striker buried his right-footed shot in the right
corner of the net for his eighth goal of the year. It was also Chávez’s
first career assist.

TFC looked to answer back, and had two solid scoring chances by O'Brian White thwarted. In the 63rd
minute, White headed just over the goal on a nice run and cross by Maksim Usanov up the right flank.

In the 75th, the Toronto striker again found himself with some room
inside the FCD area. With Hartman off his line and the home net open,
White took a shot only to see his effort quelled at the last possible
moment by Jackson, who executed a great goalmouth block.

Hartman made another great play in the 82nd minute when he got a hand
on a header by TFC’s Jacob Peterson.

With the win, still-streaking FC Dallas keep pace in the tight
Western Conference. Schellas Hyndman’s squad travels to San Jose next
Saturday. Toronto haven’t tasted victory in MLS play in four straight
matches, with their last win coming on Aug. 7.